Attacks and gunfights between suspected Islamists
and security forces in a north-eastern Nigerian town have killed several people
and destroyed buildings, residents and authorities said on Friday, while unrest
also hit another city, the French News Agency reported.
Explosions and gunfire shook the city of
Potiskum, sparking panic and chaos, from late Thursday, residents and security
forces said. Residents reported several dead as well as schools and a
government building burnt.
In the city of Maiduguri, also in the northeast
and the base of Islamist extremist group Boko Haram, gunfire and
several explosions could be heard on Friday, an AFP correspondent
said. But details were not immediately clear.
Police said they were seeking to restore calm in
Potiskum and clear unexploded bombs on Friday, while some of the ordnance was
still detonating.
“There are so many bombs here and there, and I
can’t give you the casualty figure now, because our men are still in the field
to restore calm,” said Patrick Egbuniwe, police commissioner for Yobe State,
where Potiskum is located.
A military source said some houses had been
destroyed with home-made bombs and a security checkpoint was attacked, but he
also could not give a death toll yet. He said Boko Haram was suspected to be
behind the violence.
“I cannot ascertain as of now how many people
were killed, apart from the one (suspect) that I know who was shot at the
checkpoint,” the military source told AFP.
Residents of the city, which has been repeatedly
hit by Boko Haram, described heavy explosions and gunfire, with Potiskum under
military lockdown on Friday morning as security forces sought to track down the
attackers.
Soldiers have often responded brutally to attacks
in north-eastern Nigeria and have been accused of killing civilians and burning
homes in the past.
It was however not clear if troops were the cause
of any of the destruction in Potiskum, and residents spoke of attackers
throwing homemade bombs at houses.
Two residents spoke of seeing a number of bodies,
while one said several schools were burnt, including an Islamic seminary.
“From where I stand, I can see the local
government secretariat completely burned and several shops around it
smouldering from last night’s attack,” one resident said.
Another said that “at least five primary schools,
including an Islamic seminary, have been burnt in the attacks.”
Violence linked to Boko Haram’s
insurgency in northern and central Nigeria, including killings by security
forces, is believed to have left more than 2,800 people dead since 2009.
Human Rights Watch said last week that both
Nigerian security forces as well as Boko Haram might be guilty of crimes
against humanity.
Thursday’s violence seemed to have begun with an
attack on a security checkpoint, which led to gunfights with the assailants.
Residents said chaos then spread to other parts
of the city, with bombs exploding and gunfire echoing through neighbourhoods.
Blasts and gunfire also rocked the city on
Wednesday.
Authorities said then that homemade bombs were
thrown at security forces during a search of a suspected Boko Haram
hideout, resulting in a gunfight, but gave no indication of casualties.
North-eastern Nigeria has been the region hardest
hit by Boko Haram, though its attacks have also spread to other areas
of the north and centre.
The group has claimed to be seeking an Islamic
state in Nigeria, though its demands have repeatedly shifted. Boko Haram is
believed to include a number of factions in addition to imitators and criminal
groups who carry out violence under the guise of the group.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and
largest oil producer, is divided between a mainly Muslim north and
predominately Christian south.
The Punch
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